Contact Melissa B. Jones
AASL Communications Specialist
(312) 280-4381
mjones@ala.org
NEWS
For Immediate Release
May 27, 2008
AASL to sponsor Spectrum scholars at AASL 2008 Fall Forum
CHICAG0 – The American Association of School Librarians (AASL), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), will sponsor the attendance of up to two Spectrum scholars at its 2008 Fall Forum. The AASL Fall Forum is hosted during the years that an AASL National Conference is not held. This year's forum will be held Oct. 17-19 in Oak Brook, Ill. (Chicago area).
AASL will select two Spectrum Scholars who are pursuing a library degree concentrating on school library media or are working as school library media specialists. AASL will provide each of the selected Spectrum Scholars with complimentary registration to the AASL 2008 Fall Forum and a $750 travel stipend to offset travel and housing expenses. Spectrum Scholars will be paired with a mentor for the duration of the conference and will receive special recognition at key events.
The travel stipend is generously provided by Capstone Publishers. Capstone Publishers is a family-owned company that supports the reading needs of pre-K-12 students through Capstone Press, Compass Point Books, Picture Window Books, Stone Arch Books, Children's Library Resources and Red Brick Learning.
“Capstone Publishers is excited to partner with AASL to provide the stipends,” said Tom Ahern, CEO of Capstone Publishers. “We understand the important role school library media specialists play and share the goal of student success and achievement.”
AASL's 2008 Fall Forum, "Assessment, Part II: Constructing and Interpreting Viable Tools for Effective Student Learning in the Library Media Center," will provide participants real-world examples and tools that aid the school library media specialist in constructing effective programs as a teaching partner and interpreting statistical evidence of student learning. Registration is now open at
http://www.ala.org/aasl/fallforum.
The Spectrum Scholarship Program's major drive is to recruit applicants and award scholarships to American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander students for graduate programs in library and information studies. Its mission is improving service at the local level through the development of a representative workforce that reflects the communities served by all libraries in the new millennium. Since 1997, ALA has awarded over 415 Spectrum scholarships.
Those who wish to apply can find a copy of the criteria and application guidelines in the Fall Forum section of the AASL Web site at
http://www.ala.org/aasl/fallforum. Applications are due on Sept. 12, and winners will be announced on Sept. 18. For more information on Spectrum, visit
http://www.ala.org/spectrum.
The American Association of School Librarians,
www.aasl.org, a division of the American Library Association (ALA), promotes the improvement and extension of library media services in elementary and secondary schools as a means of strengthening the total education program. Its mission is to advocate excellence, facilitate change and develop leaders in the school library media field.
